Clustered munitions have been used to deliver a variety of small weapons which are separated in an air burst to cover a wide target area. The individual weapons known as submunitions are usually bomblets, pyrotechnic devices, or the like, but do not have individual guidance to selected targets, the cluster technique being used primarily for area saturation of a target. Guidance systems have been utilized in some recent submunitions but the designs of these weapons have not included effective wing surfaces nor any propulsion means. Such lack requires that the seeker ranges be excussive and the area of coverage small. Guided weapons are usually individually launched and carry a large warhead, since the complexity and cost of the guidance system makes it impractical for large numbers of small missiles.
Targets such as tanks or other armored vehicles are not easily damaged by randomly scattered small munitions. However, if a direct hit can be made, a small shaped charge of explosive can destroy or incapacitate a tank. In an attack on a group of armored vehicles it would be a distinct advantage to use multiple small missiles capable of homing on individual targets, while keeping the unit cost to a minimum.